This Thanksgiving, Leslie Martes, program and outreach director at The Voter Participation Center, is thankful her father, John, had access to union retiree health care benefits. Without that health care plan, it's likely John wouldn't have lived to celebrate the holiday with his family.  

If you live in the Palm Beach, Fla., Treasure Coast area and want to help make Thanksgiving happen for families who might need a boost, you can join the Big Heart Brigade’s Thanksgiving Feast, 2012. Supported by the United Way of Palm Beach County Partnership, which includes the Palm Beach-Treasure Coast AFL-CIO, the Big Heart Brigade is looking for 4,000 volunteers who can help prepare, cook, package and distribute the nearly 100,000 meals for the homeless and disadvantaged.

As you prepare to head to the grocery store to pick up your Thanksgiving dinner ingredients, double check your shopping list to make sure your Turkey Day fixin's are all union made in America. Check out some highlights from the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor's resource site, Labor 411. Here are some of the best union-made Thanksgiving eats and tools from the Bakery, Confectionery, Tobacco Workers and Grain Millers (BCTGM), Machinists (IAM), United Steelworkers (USW) and United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW).

Kudos to Los Angeles union members who helped out those in need over the recent holiday. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor and Labor Community Services, AFL-CIO sponsored the Homeless Heroes Team, with more than 200 union members, their families and veterans taking part in a 5K run/walk and raising $10,000 for homeless vets.